The Republican journal., 1887-10-20
Popocatipetl, the Monarch of Mexico.
INTO THE LAND OF THE SKY. TRADITIONS OF
THE TWIN VOLCANOES.

THE TWIN VOLCANOES.
Correspondence of the journal.
MEXICO, Oct. 1st. l don't know whether l
would advise anybody to attempt the ascent of
Popocatipctl. tried it mysclf,-long ago, dur
ing the first year of my first visit to Mexico,
melted thereto by the beloved companion of my
wanderings, Emily Pierce. who has since
climbed the heights of Immortality; but I
doubt if life viii! be long enough to enable me
ever to feel quite rested from that adventure.
There are not wanting those unaspiring and
therefore incredulous souls. who-having never
assembled beyond the valleys of life, either
mctaphorcally or literally, but stick to beaten
paths from the cradle to the gravc-snccr ut
The possibility of the undertaking and hint
~that those who claim to have accomplished It
are merely Iomancing. | can testify, however,
to the feasibility of it, even for ladies' II they
are physically strong and spiritually enthusas-
tic enough-:nd the latter Is by no means the
least important qualification, for the eXatation
OF the hour Will carry one over dangers and
difficulties which without 1t would be insur-
mountahlc.
There stands
"oLp rOPo,"
always on the horizon-thr highest mountain
in North America. and one of the half dozen
highest In the world-a perpetual temptation
to the adventurous. AS the traveller nears
the VALLEY of Mexico the first objects that
greet his gaze the twin volcanoes. Popo-
catipetl and lxtacchuatl, lthe latter pronounced
Ecs-tah-scc-Wat-l), side by side. both wearing
the white robes of the sky. Their enormous
>noW-helds. cleaning In the tropic sunshine.
attract his eyes first in the morning and last at
night. Who can remain long under their shad-
ows ndnot become possessed of an unquench-
able desire to place beneath bis feet that mar
vel of his s'hool-days, the Monarch of Mexico?
For many the sight of the mountain becomes
sort of fascination. which, like Macbeth. '',otb
murder sleep'-or are they bewitchcd by the
genius of old Popo. the queer little brownie
whom the Indians call Cuantelpostle, who
dwcl> among the eternal SHOWS and helps or
hinacrs people according to his etish moods:
If you decide to ascend, the proper prelmi-
nary is to find somebody who has been there
before You and knows all about it by actual
experience. These sophisticated ones are not
numerous. Yet few of them may always he
found. The start must be made from this
village OF Amcca- Meca. on the north side of
the mountain, but most of the preparations
can best lie made in the City of Mexico. forty
miles away. First be sure to find General
Sanchez Orhoa. Governor of the Military
school at Chapultepec. who regularly owns
the volcano and works it as a ulphur mine.
and from whom alone can be obtained the
Ill
1.-THE halfway house." TlamacaS. midway be-
tween the valley and the crater. There are
other very important particulars which YOUR
informant may neglect to mention. For eX-
ample. do rot forget that the feet must he
kept warm and dry by pairs upon pairs of
stout WOODEN hose. for the many hours of
climbing through wet SHOWS to ever colder
heights: Il quantity of cloth in strips for secure
ly bandaging the ankles and sandals with spikes
IN the solc> for scaling the ice cones: a stout
stick with Il spike driven into the point. to
assist in the climbing,-for in all this land of
mountains there is not such thing as real
Alpen>tock: wells and colored glasses. to pro-
tcct the eyes from the dazzling glare of the
tropic sun upon the snow fields. which in lofty
attitudes. combined with excessive fatigue and
extraordinary cXertonS. sometimes produces
blindness; the lightest clothing you can secure
consistent with warmth-for before your task
is half accomplished you will find that
TIE CHRISTOPHER BECOMES A BURDEN''
and each additional ounce seems to weigh ton;
plenty of blankets for the cold nights at Tlana-
cas-. and provisions for four days--by no means
forgetting the brandy bottle and a few simple
remedies TO be used in eases of fantneSs or
vertigo, which the thin air of 1.-THE land of the
sky" is liable to supcrinduce.
Guides. horses. food. etc. can be procured at
Ameca-Meca. You should start for the half
way house as early in the morning as possible,
III order ta traverse the gloomy forests before
nlshtfall: but in this country of 1Ndndna. (''tO-
morrow,') 1t is one thing to resolve and quite
another to accomplish. As strangers come to
this village for no other purpose than the
ascent of Popocatipetl. one is Immediately sur
rounded by guides and traders. and has no
difficulty in procuring all requirements. But
rememhsr that IN every case when dealing
with a Mexican it is absolutely necessary to
"dcker." for whatever may be his price, he
expects to come down at least two-thirds. If
You accept his primary offer he has no further
respect for you, but. considering you lawful
prey As nan compos mentis. will proceed to
cheat you beyond all account.
ltis best to employ peom and two horses to
| each person. and an experienced guide for
every two or three. With an ordinary party
he expense Of each for the whole trip. from
the City of Mexico to the crater and back
again. need not exceed SO But above all
| things be sure to carry plenty Of blankets and
a bountiful supply of caloric-producing food
for the quick transition from eternal summer
to eternal snow is trying to the strongest con-
>titution.
The latest measurement makes Popocatipct
a little more than $4,000 feet in height. one of
the mightest in that ''burnng girtlle' which
surrounds the Pacific. Its twin, IXtaccihuatl
is three thousand feet lower-a long, uneven
ridge instead of Il cone, but, being that much
nearer the limits of vision, looks the greater of
the two from the valley. Facing eastward
Ixtaccihuatl,- la Wujer Blanca, or
1.-THE WHITE WOMAN"
is equally suggestive. by her shape, of dead
giantess robed for burial. Far and near this
lon@-eNtinrt volcano is known as "The White
Woman and from the City of Mexico, as
from the plains of Ameca- MEGA. the rcsem-
blance is the same, to Il dead woman stretched
out on her bier, covered with white Sheet
The contour of face, breast and limbs is per-
feet. the hair streaming in long, silvery locks
back from the snowy forehead and down the
sides of the bier. The feet are turned toward
her companion giant. and between the two lies
Il brown and treeless ridge.
There is Il tradition among the Indians that
these two volcanoes were once living human
beings, in the early years of the world, both of
| gigantic stature. Unfortunately for the colos-
| sal pair, they committed some mis,lemeanor
which so offended the Supreme Deity that he
changed them into mountains. He struck the
| giantcss dead-and there she lies to this day,
| robed in gli>tcning white. stretched silent be-
| meath winding sheet of snow. The giant
was merely rooted fast to the spot, condemned
| through all the slow centuries to contemplate
his loved companion. Formerly he was won't
| to express his grief and Indignation by pouring
forth volumes Of smoke and shedding floods of
fiery lava-tears, shaking the earth in the agony
of his tremhngs. Then the atfrighted natives
worshipped him as Tlaloc, the God of Storms
and called him PopocatipeH =" lIil that
hundreds of years the giant has remained inn
| passive. apparently resigned to his doom.
Why "old Popo" is still called an active vol
cano in the school books, l do not know, for
| within the memory of man he has not been
| guilty of any sort of eruption. All geoogsts
| who have examined its lignites and other min
| erals agree that at least
| TEN THOUSAND YEARS
must have elapsed since volcanic action has
taken place. Yet Prescott, searching among
| the archives of Spain, brought to light-among
other curious letters from the COn4uistddoreS
"A vivid description of Popocatipet in erup-
| ton! The author of it was Don Diego Ordas,
one of Cortez's captains and especial corre-
| spondent>' of the expedition And so graphi-
cally did he describe it that the Spanish sover-
| egn, Charles ", granted to him and his des-
| cendants forever the exclusive right to bear a
| burning mountain upon the family escutcheon !
| AS special correspondents are seldom known
to tamper with the TRUTH let us believe, for the
credit of the profession, that the phenomenon
which Ordas witnessed was thunder storm
of unusual severity. l saw one myself on the
mountain top four years ago, when suddenly
| the water became black as midnight and the
| SOiferettds. or sulphur creviceS, showed them
selves in lurid flames of red and blue, exactly
| like pictures we have seen of the flaming gates
of hell, producing an effect which might appalI
| the stoutest heart.
Speaking of Popocatipetl, that redoutable
Friar; Thomas Gage. quantity observes
'There are no Alps like unto it for height,
cold and constant snow that lieth upon it,"
| One does not realize this, however, during the
| first half of the iOurney when ssHOl for the